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SEA-TAC Airport expecting largest crowds seen since the pandemic started due to spring break and vaccine availability
Q13's AJ Janavel reports
SEATTLE - A COVID-19 variant first identified in Brazil has been detected in Washington state, health officials said Thursday.
Public Health – Seattle & King County said the UW Medicine Virology Lab detected the presence of the P.1 variant in a COVID-19 King County test sample.
Related: UK coronavirus variant confirmed at UW
Three COVID-19 variants, including the variant first identified in the UK and the variant first identified in South Africa, have now been detected in Washington state.
The P.1 variant was first detected in the United States in late January and has since been detected in at least ten states including Oregon, county officials said.
Related: Covid-19 variant first identified in South Africa confirmed in King County
"If we let down our guard, these variant strains will make us pay," Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County, said in a statement. "The upside is that we can take steps to limit the damage. The same precautions that have helped us drive down case counts in the past can also protect us from the variants."
Viruses are constantly mutating, and numerous variants have emerged. Health officials are concerned about the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil variants because researchers believe they may spread more easily.
If people continue strong efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 for a few more months, the risk for another serious wave of infections will be reduced and speed the return to a more normal life, county officials said.